Is it time to cut inheritance tax… or raise it?

This is Money Podcast

This is Money

Business News, Business, Investing, News

4.1 • 650 Ratings

🗓️ 2 February 2018

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Chancellor asked for ideas for inheritance tax to be simplified this week, but should we even have a death tax at all?

It is highly unpopular, and some who argue against it say that taxing someone when they are alive and then their estate when they die amounts to double taxation.

In contrast, others argue for a lower inheritance tax-free threshold and an even higher tax rate than the current 40%.

So how do you solve a problem like inheritance tax? On this week’s podcast Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost look at how it works, why it is unpopular, and how you can avoid it.

Simon suggests his plan to simplify it and get more people paying by removing those fiddly reliefs and slashing the rate to 20%.

But we also consider the argument for taxing inheritance (and unearned property wealth) more heavily.

Later on the podcast, we discuss the problem of interest-only timebomb mortgages and whether homeowners are burying their heads in the sand.

Also on the agenda is what’s wrong with M&S and investing in emerging markets and why they could still be a good long-term bet, even after funds rose almost 30% last year.

And finally, the team dive into the cryptocurrency world again to look at how to play it safe if you are going to buy bitcoin or one of its smaller rivals.

Well, as safe as possible with something prone to swing around by daily double-digit percentages.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to This Is Money podcast in partnership with NS&I, bringing you a weekly roundup of the top personal finance, consumer and business stories that editor Simon Lambertness team have been covering on their award-winning website.
0:13.9	I'm your host, Georgie Frost, and joining Simon I today is Consumer Affairs Editor Lee Boyce.
0:19.8	And this week, we focus on inheritance tax.
0:23.1	The Chancellor, well, he wants it simplified, but what's wrong with it in the first place?
0:27.3	Does it really need reforming?
0:29.1	Should we pay less?
0:30.4	Or perhaps even more?
0:32.2	Mr Hammond, if you are listening, Simon has a few suggestions for you.
0:36.2	We also discuss warnings for those with
0:38.2	interest-only mortgages, run the rule over new home loans from M&S Bank, and ask if the rich
0:44.8	rewards for those who have invested in emerging markets can continue. Plus, with all the
0:50.3	hype around cryptocurrencies, is it time This Is Money had a dedicated section
0:55.1	on their website.
0:56.8	All that and plenty more coming up.
0:58.3	Don't forget you can stay up to date with all the latest breaking money news.
1:01.2	Just go to this ismoney.co.uk or download the app.
1:05.3	This is Money, brought to you in partnership with NS and I.
1:09.8	Enjoy peace of mind with our new guaranteed income bonds and guaranteed growth bonds.
1:14.9	But firstly, if it's all right, I just wanted to talk to you briefly about IKEA.
1:18.8	The founder Ingvar Kamprad died this week at the age of 91, just days after you regaled us all on last week's podcast about your trip to IKEA land in Sweden.
1:29.5	I do recommend listening back to that podcast, if nothing else, for the pure joy and excitement in Lee's voice at that visit.
1:36.1	But there's been a lot in the press about him this week.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from This is Money, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of This is Money and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.